Great to be back to glorious Saturday nights and Sunday mornings after a big Dawgs win, especially when you avert a hangover by the hair of Cash Jones' mustache.
Offensively, the Bulldogs got off to a slow start (no doy). I felt like some of it in the extreme early going was a mixture of safe play-calling designed to probe the Clemson defense like an alien did to Travis Walton, some 1st game jitters and rust on Beck's part, and of course some ill-timed penalties. I also felt the officials missed a couple of PI's, particularly on Colby Young's would-be touchdown. But, they did enough to generally keep Clemson pinned deep, and built a 6-0 lead going into the half, and it was all gas, no brakes after that.
Beck finished 23-33 (69.7%) for 278 yds and 2 TDs. It was a very solid game, but he was off on a couple throws, and there were a few drops. What generally stood out was that he seems to have complete command of the offense, and is clearly on the same page w/ Bobo. There were a couple of times where you could just tell after surveying the defense, he had an answer for just about anything they were going to do. The improvised run for a first down was great to see, both for the in-game effect of picking up a 3rd and long, but also to add it to film. Defenses will ignore his running ability at their own peril.
Beck and Bobo continue the trend of spreading the ball around to different receivers, something that goes back to the Monken days. 8 different players could at least 2 passes (should have been 9, but Frazier dropped two). While there may (emphasis on 'may', as we obviously don't know for sure) not be a true superstar among the WRs and TEs, there is an almost overabundance of above average to excellent talent all over the place.
Arian Smith may not have had his biggest game, but I thought it was his most complete game to date, and it's clear we're going to try to get him a bit more involved as opposed to just picking a couple of times per game to take a deep shot. Not that it was some incredible play, but I really liked the ~12 yd dig route he had for a first down. It's a possible great sign, as he had a couple of those go right through his hands in past years. If he can be consistent with that, it will make him that much bigger of an overall threat.
Colbie Young's back shoulder TD was exactly what we all envisioned when he transferred in. Shades of Fromm to Wims there, and nearly impossible to stop when executed properly, like the Crane Technique. Lovett was Lovett, which is a great thing, as was Dillon Bell, who had his biggest play called back on a penalty, and had some cramping later. I wonder if it's too early to get really excited about London Humphreys. Probably a little, but there is clearly talent there. And, with all that said, the TEs were used somewhat sparingly in the passing game, though Luckie had a big gainer on a beautiful over the shoulder throw and catch. That's pretty durn scary.
On the ground, the O-Line struggled early, and Branson Robinson looked a bit frustrated. After getting stuffed a few times, it looked like he tried to start bouncing things outside, which turned 1-2 yd gains into 0 to -1 one yard runs. Definitely not giving up on him by any stretch, of course.
Obviously, a huge story was Nate Frazier. Other than the aforementioned drops, he looked absolutely electric. McElroy likened him to D'Andre Swift, which is pretty fair, at least in terms of running style and ability. Showed excellent vision, cutting, power, and acceleration, and of course he notched his first career TD. Very excited to see how he progresses.
How many teams out there would kill to have Cash Jones as their 4th or 5th option at RB (once Rod Robinson comes back). Great stiff arm on the late TD. My gawd, when Etienne is back, Branson hopefully continues to gain confidence and shake some rust off, R. Rob is back, and obviously Nate Frazier, that is just a ridiculous RB room, and that's without even counting Bowens and Phillips, who I am sure will get some expanded roles next Saturday in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
On Defense, it's really difficult to argue with the results. Just 3 pts, and really only a couple of drives that even crossed the 50. To be fair, Georgia was aided by a couple of self-inflicted wounds by Clemson in terms of penalties and flat-out missed throws by Klubnik. If those things don't happen early on, you just don't know how the complexion and flow of the game might have gone. But, that's what makes the Georgia D so difficult. If you don't play near perfectly down after down, drive after drive, we are extremely difficult to move the ball on and certainly score TDs on.
Daylen Everette must be wondering what he did to offend the football gods. This actually happened to him several times last year, but it just seems like everybody wants to make their best throw and catch on him. A couple of diving catches on indefensible throws, and a one-handed snag came against him when he was pretty much glued to the receiver. Looked a lot more confident yesterday than last year.
KJ Bolden looked fantastic after being pressed into duty at the Star with Aguero out. I suspect that, once Aguero returns it's just a matter of time before he takes over Dan Jackson's spot (who continues to play pretty well in his 14th year at Georgia). And, with Malaki doing Malaki things (phenomenal pick), that trio could end up being one of the best ever in the SEC.
ILB play seemed much improved from last year, though again, I don't want to jump the gun based on one game. Allen and R. Wilson just looked a half-beat quicker at diagnosing plays and understanding their responsibilities. Mondon looked closer to his speed from a couple years ago. The speed and recognition on a couple of RB screens and outlet/swing passes attempted by Clemson reminded me of the play from 2 and 3 years ago. Last year, a lot of those were going for 6-10 yds, but yesterday, a lot more were going for 1-3 yds. It's a great sign.
I thought the D-Line was not dominant, but effective. That's to say that they didn't often get much push or completely muddy things up along the LOS, they absolutely held the point of attack. Christen Miller took on a couple of double teams in textbook fashion. Hopefully, we can get healthier there for depth purposes.
Jalon Walker notched 1.5 sacks, and Mykell was causing a lot of disruption early. Hopefully, Mykel doesn't miss too much time if any (Smart said x-rays were negative).
Really big props, though, to the secondary as a whole. There were very, very few easy completions, and they really forced Klubnik to either make a perfect throw, or else throw it away or get sacked.
I definitely would like to see a more organic pass rush, but the Tigers' O-Line did a good job, so we'll see how things progress. Along with the high quality LB play, the DL held Phil Mafah largely in check, at a pedestrian 3.7 ypa.
Overall, other than the slow start, it's hard to ask for much more than what we saw yesterday. 447 yds to 189 (would have been worse but of course we played backups late), a 31 pt win, all while seeing some new faces get some impactful action bodes well. 28-3 has a much better meaning for me this morning than it did previously, as that's what the Dawgs outscored the Tigers by in the second half. They laid complete and utter waste to Clemson.
When you see Georgia play a game like this against what's supposed to be a quality opponent, it's kinda hard not to get excited. Of course, each week is a game unto itself, and for all we know, Clemson will end up being a .500 team. But, for now, let's just assume the Dawgs are completely worthy of their #1 ranking.
Offensively, the Bulldogs got off to a slow start (no doy). I felt like some of it in the extreme early going was a mixture of safe play-calling designed to probe the Clemson defense like an alien did to Travis Walton, some 1st game jitters and rust on Beck's part, and of course some ill-timed penalties. I also felt the officials missed a couple of PI's, particularly on Colby Young's would-be touchdown. But, they did enough to generally keep Clemson pinned deep, and built a 6-0 lead going into the half, and it was all gas, no brakes after that.
Beck finished 23-33 (69.7%) for 278 yds and 2 TDs. It was a very solid game, but he was off on a couple throws, and there were a few drops. What generally stood out was that he seems to have complete command of the offense, and is clearly on the same page w/ Bobo. There were a couple of times where you could just tell after surveying the defense, he had an answer for just about anything they were going to do. The improvised run for a first down was great to see, both for the in-game effect of picking up a 3rd and long, but also to add it to film. Defenses will ignore his running ability at their own peril.
Beck and Bobo continue the trend of spreading the ball around to different receivers, something that goes back to the Monken days. 8 different players could at least 2 passes (should have been 9, but Frazier dropped two). While there may (emphasis on 'may', as we obviously don't know for sure) not be a true superstar among the WRs and TEs, there is an almost overabundance of above average to excellent talent all over the place.
Arian Smith may not have had his biggest game, but I thought it was his most complete game to date, and it's clear we're going to try to get him a bit more involved as opposed to just picking a couple of times per game to take a deep shot. Not that it was some incredible play, but I really liked the ~12 yd dig route he had for a first down. It's a possible great sign, as he had a couple of those go right through his hands in past years. If he can be consistent with that, it will make him that much bigger of an overall threat.
Colbie Young's back shoulder TD was exactly what we all envisioned when he transferred in. Shades of Fromm to Wims there, and nearly impossible to stop when executed properly, like the Crane Technique. Lovett was Lovett, which is a great thing, as was Dillon Bell, who had his biggest play called back on a penalty, and had some cramping later. I wonder if it's too early to get really excited about London Humphreys. Probably a little, but there is clearly talent there. And, with all that said, the TEs were used somewhat sparingly in the passing game, though Luckie had a big gainer on a beautiful over the shoulder throw and catch. That's pretty durn scary.
On the ground, the O-Line struggled early, and Branson Robinson looked a bit frustrated. After getting stuffed a few times, it looked like he tried to start bouncing things outside, which turned 1-2 yd gains into 0 to -1 one yard runs. Definitely not giving up on him by any stretch, of course.
Obviously, a huge story was Nate Frazier. Other than the aforementioned drops, he looked absolutely electric. McElroy likened him to D'Andre Swift, which is pretty fair, at least in terms of running style and ability. Showed excellent vision, cutting, power, and acceleration, and of course he notched his first career TD. Very excited to see how he progresses.
How many teams out there would kill to have Cash Jones as their 4th or 5th option at RB (once Rod Robinson comes back). Great stiff arm on the late TD. My gawd, when Etienne is back, Branson hopefully continues to gain confidence and shake some rust off, R. Rob is back, and obviously Nate Frazier, that is just a ridiculous RB room, and that's without even counting Bowens and Phillips, who I am sure will get some expanded roles next Saturday in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
On Defense, it's really difficult to argue with the results. Just 3 pts, and really only a couple of drives that even crossed the 50. To be fair, Georgia was aided by a couple of self-inflicted wounds by Clemson in terms of penalties and flat-out missed throws by Klubnik. If those things don't happen early on, you just don't know how the complexion and flow of the game might have gone. But, that's what makes the Georgia D so difficult. If you don't play near perfectly down after down, drive after drive, we are extremely difficult to move the ball on and certainly score TDs on.
Daylen Everette must be wondering what he did to offend the football gods. This actually happened to him several times last year, but it just seems like everybody wants to make their best throw and catch on him. A couple of diving catches on indefensible throws, and a one-handed snag came against him when he was pretty much glued to the receiver. Looked a lot more confident yesterday than last year.
KJ Bolden looked fantastic after being pressed into duty at the Star with Aguero out. I suspect that, once Aguero returns it's just a matter of time before he takes over Dan Jackson's spot (who continues to play pretty well in his 14th year at Georgia). And, with Malaki doing Malaki things (phenomenal pick), that trio could end up being one of the best ever in the SEC.
ILB play seemed much improved from last year, though again, I don't want to jump the gun based on one game. Allen and R. Wilson just looked a half-beat quicker at diagnosing plays and understanding their responsibilities. Mondon looked closer to his speed from a couple years ago. The speed and recognition on a couple of RB screens and outlet/swing passes attempted by Clemson reminded me of the play from 2 and 3 years ago. Last year, a lot of those were going for 6-10 yds, but yesterday, a lot more were going for 1-3 yds. It's a great sign.
I thought the D-Line was not dominant, but effective. That's to say that they didn't often get much push or completely muddy things up along the LOS, they absolutely held the point of attack. Christen Miller took on a couple of double teams in textbook fashion. Hopefully, we can get healthier there for depth purposes.
Jalon Walker notched 1.5 sacks, and Mykell was causing a lot of disruption early. Hopefully, Mykel doesn't miss too much time if any (Smart said x-rays were negative).
Really big props, though, to the secondary as a whole. There were very, very few easy completions, and they really forced Klubnik to either make a perfect throw, or else throw it away or get sacked.
I definitely would like to see a more organic pass rush, but the Tigers' O-Line did a good job, so we'll see how things progress. Along with the high quality LB play, the DL held Phil Mafah largely in check, at a pedestrian 3.7 ypa.
Overall, other than the slow start, it's hard to ask for much more than what we saw yesterday. 447 yds to 189 (would have been worse but of course we played backups late), a 31 pt win, all while seeing some new faces get some impactful action bodes well. 28-3 has a much better meaning for me this morning than it did previously, as that's what the Dawgs outscored the Tigers by in the second half. They laid complete and utter waste to Clemson.
When you see Georgia play a game like this against what's supposed to be a quality opponent, it's kinda hard not to get excited. Of course, each week is a game unto itself, and for all we know, Clemson will end up being a .500 team. But, for now, let's just assume the Dawgs are completely worthy of their #1 ranking.
